Cake is one of my favorite desserts. I love the tenderness of the cake and the sweetness of the frosting, as do our kids. My husband, however, isn’t as big of a fan of frosting. (Apparently he’s missing a gene or something. . .) I’ve found that I can meet both of our needs by making a loaf-shaped cake.
The beauty of the loaf cake is many. First, it is smaller, so we don’t have tons of leftovers. Second, I can add just a light layer of frosting to the top of the cake and leave frosting off the sides for a portion of the cake, which is perfect for my husband. For those of us who enjoy frosting I place frosting on the sides and can slice the individual pieces in half and add a middle layer of frosting, which equals happiness for the kids and me.
This cake was quite moist. Using diced pear gave nice bites of fruit throughout the cake. I added chopped pecan because a little bit of crunch is a good thing, at least in our house. Top it with one of these two versions of mascarpone frosting, and it’s time to eat!
- 2 cups pear, peeled & chopped
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
- 1 cup sugar
- 1-1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- Combine pears, pecans, and sugar in a small bowl. Allow to sit for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Coat 9×5 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir well.
- Add oil, egg, and vanilla, mixing until blended. Add pear mixture, stirring to combine.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pan.
- Cool completely before frosting.
